Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Back in the early nineties I was a huge house head and would buy tons of house records. Still love the music but after retiring from the scene 10 years back I really don't know anything about the scene now. However, always loved it when an indie track was given a club/house remix. This is what has happened here as indiepop guys Club 8 drop their first remix of the Amanda Mair track "House". For the clubs.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Thirty years later and Dare gets the reissue treatment. Two cd set featuring the original album, bonus tracks and the USA mini album Fascination. Nice!! Includes the massive hits Don't You Want Me, Fascination, and Mirror Man.

Decided to skip the Bad Religion chaos at Dundas Square to check out Michael Franti/Spearhead at the Luminato festival at Dave Pecaut square for free. Its a shame that Luminato and NXNE run their festival at the same time each year. If it wasn't enough of a challenge to sift through the menu of bands at NXNE, Luminato then adds a whole bunch more.

Was running from the premiere of the movie Ecstasy (based on Irvine Welsh book) at the Royal to the square and arrived slightly late. Was solo on this mission as Tuco got called in last minute by the man. What I arrived to was quite the family event with a mixed crowd of all ages and a good time. I would guess maybe about 2000+ people. Everyone was up and dancing. A couple tracks in I realized this wasn't going to be a 1990s Spearhead/Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy Drug of the Nation type of the night but more of his latest work off his past four albums gravitating towards reggae, dancehall, bossa nova, afrobeat and funk.

Unfortunately, the sound guys were off at the beginning of this show as the music was at the level that even your grandmother would be saying turn it up. Michael clued into this as the show went onward and the number of people telling him to turn it up. At one point I think the whole crowd was yelling for a volume increase. He finally stopped the show so that they could fix it. During this time he kicked into an acoustic number. After this, he advised and appologized that the sound couldn't be any louder due to sound restrictions. Thankfully though, they did actually raise the volume to a level that was reasonable/enjoyable and the dance party got bigger.

The night wasn't short of some sort of activism. At somepoint Michael invited some people up on stage. A topless woman leaped on stage to get down. "This show keeps on getting weirder by the moment" exclaimed Michael as the lady left the stage at the end of the song. So much for the family show.

Spearhead even had special guest Jovanotti (playing luminato the next day) and his band stop by to join in for their single they released last year called The Sound Of Sunshine. Jovanotti even busted out some Sugarhill Gang during one of his many cameos that night.

Michael highlighted the age of his crowd by pointing out a couple who had been married for 35 years. His comment was "You know your marriage has been a success when you are 35 years later in the front row of a rock concert.

Spearhead played for a solid two hours and had everyone screaming for more. Quite the love in. I was off though for my failed attempt to get into the Garrison to see the Black Belles.

Here is what the twitter world said about the concert:

‏@ElGuaposGhost: I wasnt aware that a Michael Franti show was also a family picnic..tons of kids, old people, camping chairs and blankets (IKDK: Neither did we)

@thisiskit_com: I have never heard such an amazing chant for better sound than at this #Franti show @Luminato
@affanchowdhry: Michael Franti has stopped his concert at #Luminato2012 because mic not working. (IKDK: Not just his mic, the sound period.)

Day 4 of NXNE and I got the opportunity to catch a documentary on 82 year old Hugh Oliver being premiered at the film festival side of the NXNE music festival at the packed NFB movie theatre located at John and Richmond.

Hugh has been playing music for along time. He appears quite frequently at the Tranzac in the Annex in Toronto. This is a documentary on his life and his music. It coincides with the release of a full length CD put together by Hugh and ex-supergarage guy Marco DiFelice who also directs the documentary. Entertaining hour long film which tracks the production/recording of the CD and Hugh's quirky offbeat life. A life filled with hits and misses.

Movie is showing again on Wednesday June 20, 2012 at the Royal on College.

After a very unsuccessful day 2 trying to get into shows later in the night I unfortunately will be scrambling to get into shows tonight due to previous commitments I can't escape. But if I didn't have those commitments this is what I would have been heading out for tonight:

Day two was a slow one. Started the day off watching Italy draw and potentially eliminate any opportunity they had of moving on to the next round. The day didn't get any better as I took in my first movie of the NXNE festival. Ecstasy, based on a book by Irvine Welsh was having its world premiere or something like that. Very hyped and the banner film for NXNE this year.

Unfortunately I was disappointed. Maybe I'm getting older but this movie didn't do much for me. Am I too old to relate? Not sure if it was the production or maybe simply it was an average film. Although I wasn't expecting a trainspotting, I was expecting more.
Based on some of the comments from others that had bolted I wasn't alone.

Movie was filmed in Scotland and is billed as a Canadian dark romantic comedy film adaptation of the short story The Undefeated from the #1 best-selling book Ecstasy by Irvine Welsh.

Bolted for the door as soon as the film ended and missed the q and a with the director and Irvine Welsh. Needed to get myself to Luminato for Michael Franti and Spearhead.

After watching a heartwrenching loss for the Netherlands against Germany picked up my media credentials for the NXNE 2012 Festival. Headed out to the Painted Lady to meet up with some of the Panic Manual crew. Unfortunately was late and missed the band Avery Island. Headed down to the Drake Underground to catch the Exclaim.ca showcase. Four bands on the bill tonight including Beliefs, Eternal Summers, Mac Demarco, and Porcelain Raft.

Beliefs are a five piece from Toronto that sound like a mid nineties sonic subpop/slumberland band. Noisy guitars with girl/guy vocals. Nice sounding and went through a set which was may 30 minutes long.

Eternal Summers were a three piece from Roanoke, Va. They are signed to the ultra cool Kanine Records and have already released 2 albums. They are currently touring for their third called Correct Behaviour. The band is composed of guitarist/vocalist Nicole Yun, Bassist Jonathan Woods, and drummer Daniel Cundiff. NXNE staff had to rush to find water for Daniel who supposedly will break down if he doesn't hydrate regularily. I can definately see that as he pounds the hell out of his drums. Also, the Drake was like a microwave oven until someone finally turned on some air conditioning or opened a door to cool things down. Nice eighties alternative sounding band. Fast Paced. With an asian lead singer I automatically start to remember Lush.

Up next was up and comer Mac DeMarco who bused in from Montreal Quebec to do supposedly 10 shows during the festival. We got to see show one. Mac DeMarco, a four piece baseball cap wearing crew with a very cocky belching frontman. The band is currently signed to the ultra-hip Captured Tracks label out of the USA. You know you ain't going to be disappointed if Captured Tracks are involved. The band ran through a nice selection of tracks from their album Rock and Roll Night Club. The lead singer even took a moment to crowd surf during a musical interlude. Rock and Roll.

Last was Porcelain Raft who were just finishing a 5 month tour for his new album Strange Weekend. This was actually the last show. I'm not sure frontman Italian Mauro Remiddi knew anything about the festival he was playing and had no clue what the name was. Just probably happy to finish off such a long time on the road. His show featured only himself and a drummer. Okay show but definately prefer the CD to the live show.

Thought about catching Volcano Playground at The El Mo but my better senses kicked in and remained on the streetcar and headed home. Shame the band doesn't play another show this week.

‏@SidewalkHustle: So Mac DeMarco just decided to "take a float across the top" of an unwilling crowd @nxnefest. Strangely enough it was pretty successful (IKDK: I think this guy could sell anything including his mother)

‏@joefordy25: Mac demarco was the best thing I've seen in ages! A bit of dancing and another beer. Porcelain raft next #nxne

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

North by North East (NXNE): Canada's Premiere seven day music - film - interactive festival which takes place every year in Toronto. This year 780 bands 7 days and 40 films. Members of IKDK will be sporadically taking in the full week of events this year and are picking up our media passes today.

Wednesday June 13th is the first night of concerts and this is what we are recommending you see:

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Fantastic track from the Associates taken from their 1982 album Sulk. I always saw their records in the used stores but never really checked the band out. I own the fantastic 12 Inch for Waiting For The Love Boat but that was pretty well my knowledge of this band. Hearing Club Country has me now searching down a copy of the Sulk album. Brilliant gothic eighties pop track. A top 40 hit in the UK but not here in North America.
This video is taken from their appearance on the UK show Top Of The Pops.

Friday, June 8, 2012

I couldn't wait for the video and needed to post the second single from the new album Words and Music. Upbeat pop single from my all time favourite band. Quality of this youtube post is sketchy and hopefully the band will release the video soon. Stay tuned. I got your music.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Destroy. Erase. Improve. Spell this out and you get Dei = God. That's right, Meshuggah were at the Sound Academy Thursday night and Tuco was there to take it in.

Being that it was the Sound Academy, I drove down just to save a little time, despite the outrageous $20 parking fee (Can anyone tell me if they tow/ticket at the T&T lot?). Avoided driving into a crack hoe that wandered into the street at Church and Carleton - a good omen.

Consulting the set times, I decided to miss out on the first act, Decapitated - I mean the name is enough to put me off. The second act, however, was Baroness, a label-mate of Mastodon, which I was stoked to see. Got there in time to settle in with a brew and a quick look around. Decided to try my luck on the house right side of the action and got a decent spot near the bar.

Good size crowd and young. Not as young as C.O.B. but still youthful. Of note were the T-shirts the fans were wearing. Alot of Meshuggah Ts from several different concerts. And of the remainder that weren't Meshuggah, I didn't know half of them; There's so much out there.

Also interesting was that they had security organizing the Meshuggah merchandise line because there were so many people. For the ENTIRE NIGHT, the line ALWAYS had people. I've never seen that before - the band must have sold Tons of merch.

So Baroness gets started and they are mellower than my memory recalls. They employ a neat flanger effect in their opening track but the "groove" is missing a bit. Something seems off. The second track has some bite to it with a decent riff. The vocals feature two singers, one lead and the other accenting the first. Quite melodic at times with some quieter passages.

The audience is focussed and appreciative. Baroness takes their sound through a wider dynamic range and also has some longer four and even eight bar phrases. a lyrical sound. They've got a swimmy guitar effect going. When they aren't stringing together riffs and melodies, they pause in a swimmy stew of guitar effects/noise.

One thing Baroness does well is transition between songs. It's always a clean one that adds a little bit of structure to a performance that is more than just a collection of riffs. Near the end of the set, they finally throw down a nice groove and I'm happy.

Interlude music goes on: it's Rod Stewart - Do you think I'm Sexy. On repeat. I beat the line up and grab a Meshuggah T-shirt only now I don't have enough for food. I'm hungry but the fare at the Sound Academy does not inspire.

I relocate to house left for Meshuggah. There's noticeably more people now and sightlines are at a premium. All the bud-smokers start their ritual and one can see plumes of smoke issuing from the middle of the floor - the most inaccessible place for security of course. There's a whole science on how to smoke at a concert that deserves some words.

Meshuggah hit the stage and the launch into a ferocious first track, Demiurge. The sound is great; the track is both eerie and groovy. Meshuggah are known for their 7 string guitar work and the low end is coming through really really well. The second track, Pravus, is quicker and the crowd reaction is intense.

I'm not a big fan of metal vocals but so far these are passable featuring classic death metal growl. What really stands out is the band's great sense of timing and rhythm. Meshuggah are known for using all kinds of odd time signatures and it's something to see the band operate live and never miss a change or a beat. Phenomenal stuff.

There's quite a bit going on down in front as a steady stream of guys entering and exiting the pit stream past. One attractive young lady has a red rose in her hair and is flitting around the back of the crowd. Someone's beer goes flying. One crowd surfer makes it a few rows but this is more of a slamdancing/moshing kind of crowd.

I feel like I'm in a machine with the droning two stroke drumming and rhythm. The low end is hypnotic. The band has got the crowd on a leash. More tracks follow with no filler. A brief respite and the encore.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Thirty years ago outfit A Flock Of Seagulls unleashed their 4th single which would launch the band into super new wave stardom. Most would consider the band a one hit wonder but there was more to them than just I Ran.

Brand new single from Canadian outfit Purity Ring who have now signed to the 4AD label and the album Shrines is out in July. Electro acid! Purity Ring will be in Toronto for a gig for NXNE and then opening for the Dirty Projectors in July at the Danforth Music Hall.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

IKDK took on the offer of last minute tickets for the sold out Talib Kweli show at the Sound Academy. Finished off my night at Real Sports watching the Marlies unfortunately lose and scrambled over to Cherry Street. Literally just made it to the venue for Talib so apologies to the openers who I can't comment on. Everytime I end up going to the Sound Academy I start to like it. Maybe they have changed something or maybe they haven't but the Talib Kweli was bumping last night.

Super diverse crowd at this show. Everyone and anyone. Talib came on pretty late 11:30. I would guess he performed for about 90+ minutes running through a nice selection of cuts from his four albums including my fav track Hot Thing.

Kweli did some nice banter with the crowd. Talib flagged that he supposedly has challenges getting across the border everytime he comes up to Canada. Supposedly everything gets sorted as long as he pays a 250 dollars fee and then we let him in and everything is all right.
Also paid a brief tribute to late MCA of the Beastie Boys and all sorts of other performers who had recently passed on.

All and All a fantastic show.

Here is what they said on twitter about the show:

‏@IKvsDK: "If you haven't listened to anything I have said tonight" (IKDK: Opening act hype the last song of the set)

Friday, June 1, 2012

On a hot and awesome monday evening, Tuco ventured out to the Phoenix with good buddy D to take in some Garbage. We got there early and managed to snag some chairs in the balcony.

Live Nation had tweeted the set times with opening act James Alan, from parts unknown, starting at 8:30. Turns out Alan is a magician. Interesting choice starting a show with a magic act. Alan engaged the crowd, getting people on stage and doing some decent card tricks. Most seemed to involve palming cards or some such trickery but generally an entertaining opener.

By the time Garbage was ready to take the stage, the place was packed. A young crowd with a lot of ladies. Everybody was stoked to see Shirley Manson, the charismatic frontwoman for the band. The rest of the band is composed of rhythm-guitar Duke Erikson and producers Butch Vig (percussion) and Steve Marker (lead guitar). Last but not least is journeyman bassist Eric Avery who some might recall from Metallica's Some Kind Of Monster, the bass auditions as well as Jane's Addiction and other ventures.

The band finally takes the stage at 9:30 and launch into their set. Shirley has her hair up, Steve and Dave are wearing suits. The crowd is engaged in the earlies and the band pauses a bit between songs to let the song sit.

I'm comfortably off my feet with a great view and D is happily cheering and gabbing with two lovely ladies from the Hammer. The sound is decent and the band expertly mix in little snippets from synthesizers and guitar pedals. The whole effect is professional and effective and .... unglamourous. That is, next to Shirley Manson, everything else kind of fades into the background. She's got a great presence and a great voice. And the audience is super appreciative.

It's early yet into the program and out comes Stupid Girl. This was one of their big ones back in the day. The band delivers the track with a seering dancey beat which goes over well. The pacing of the concert is great and by this time the band has shed their outerwear and are delivering the goods.

Another few tracks and it's #1 Crush, Cherry Lips and a great track from their new album Blood For Poppies. Amazing stuff. D and the Hammer ladies are hooting and yowling. It's a great vibe from the crowd.

On the last stretch, there's a technical glitch which momentarily stops the performance. For a brief moment Shirley backs away from the stage, content to wait it out with the band - she seems kind of shy. But then, as if remembering she's a rock star, starts to gab with the audience. Shirley picks a few people in the front row and asks them where they are from.

"Montreal" ...

"Latvia" ....

"Peterborough" (loud clapping from Tuco on this one).

Duke emerges from stage left with a shot of Highland Park - Shirley's drink of choice. She's SO Scottish!! And we're off again. D is starting to scream something in my ear about rain and when she's happy. And then the big song hits, the one D has been waiting for. D and the ladies from Hamilton and all the other women in the place go off cause I'm Only Happy When It Rains is playing. Shirley ends up writhing on the stage floor and finishes the song on top with a dramatic arch of the back. Wow. Somehow she made that look classy.

Brief offstage followed by an encore which includes their James Bond theme song contribution t Enough. Here's the Setlist:

And an appreciative post-concert tweet from the band :‏

@garbage: Toronto! That was off the chain! Thankyou for a very special evening!!! G